Sink or Swim
by randomramblingsofme
Summary: Arra and Larten get into some trouble, and an embarrassing secret of Arra's is revealed. Does not follow the actual plotline.
1. Chapter 1

"Isn't it so cool?" Arra asked, standing on the opposite side of the narrow tunnel from Larten. They both had their backs against the wall and were standing on the extremely thin banks of a small river flowing down the tunnel. There was a sheet of ice on top of the water, but it was too thin to stand on.

"Yeah," Larten said over the rush of the river, "but isn't it a little bit dangerous in here? What with the low ceiling and everything?"

"I dunno," Arra frowned, "I've only come a few times recently."

"Does anyone else know about it?"

"No. Just you."

Lately, Arra had been surprising him with how much trust she was able to put in him. They were spending more and more time together after her becoming a full vampire (just a week ago), between training for their Trials and free time. Arra felt she was with Larten nearly 24/7, and she didn't mind at all.

There was a rumble. Sort of distant, above them.

"Thunder?" Larten asked uneasily.

"It _is_ raining, but I don't think…"

The rumble gets louder, and both realize at the same time. A landslide. But before either can think about moving to get out, dirt and rocks begin to pour through the opening. Cracking noises ring through the air as rocks puncture the ice, creating holes that the restless water moves up through. Arra remembers how, only ten meters back or so, the tunnel becomes so narrow that they had to crawl. More dirt and mud cascades in, bringing bigger boulders with it.

"Stay flat against the wall!" Larten yelled over the noise. As if she would go anywhere!

More ice was breaking, and the water was starting to splash up. There was no more river bank, and Arra's shoes were soaked through. One more huge roar, and everything went dark.

When Larten's eyes adjusted, he realized he wasn't dead. The tunnel was just blocked at the beginning. "Arra," he said, "you okay?"

"Yeah. Do you think the other way is blocked too?"

"I have a feeling it might, but I really don't want it to be."

"I'll go check." He heard her footsteps, splashes in the frigid water, and then a groan. "Oh no, no no no no no. Mika's going to kill me if we make it out alive. It's all my fault…" her voice kept rising.

"What, is it blocked?"

"Yes, how did you know?" she asked sarcastically, tone hitching with panic. "The water level keeps rising because of the river, and we can't get out! We're gonna drown."

"Hang on a minute. Keep a clear head. We have plenty of time. The ceiling here isn't as low as most the other parts, so we have some extra time treading water-"

" _You_ have extra time treading water."

"What do you mean?"

Arra coughed, embarrassed, "I- I can't swim," she said softly.


	2. Chapter 2

The water was up to their knees and growing higher by the second. Neither had an idea, and Arra wouldn't stop pacing and worrying. Larten had tried a few times to console her, but with no success. Her teeth were chattering as she spoke.

"We need to try something," Larten tried to clear the panic from his mind, "How about trying to move some rocks… there?" No response, so he tried the entrance that led to the outside of the mountain. All he did was get the water muddier and nearly cause a second smaller landslide. The water was up to his waist, and a few inches further for Arra. He could sense the terror even in the way she breathed. Soft whimpers echoed off the walls, proof of her ever rising but suppressed hysteria.

"It's going to be fine Arra," he reassured her, though in reality he can't even fully convince himself.

"I nearly drowned once before," she said, so quietly that without his enhanced hearing he might not have heard it. "I was little, playing by the pond, and I thought the ice was thick enough…" she trailed off. He can hear the small splashes in the water as she shudders.

Then, in the dark, Arra felt a hand on her shoulder. For a split second, she was too surprised to be afraid. She drew closer to Larten, needing to feel something besides the knot of anxiety in her stomach. Icy cold water lapping up against her waist brought reality into sharp focus once again, and she gripped Larten's arm, panicking as it sloshed up even higher.

"We have to try one more time," Larten ran over to the blockage and began to hit it again. After a few minutes, when the water was up to the bottom of Arra's ribcage, she stopped.

"I'm sorry," she panted, a half a strangled sob escaping. "This was a stupid idea, I'm getting us both killed, I'm so stupid-"

"No," Larten grabbed her shoulders and made her face him. "It's not your fault. You could never have predicted it."

They hear the last of the ice crack up to bits. The water is up to Arra's chin, Larten's shoulders. Their feet have long since gone numb. Trying again and again, with all of their strength, they slam against the boulders and ridiculously tightly packed dirt. Arra now had to keep her face tilted upward to stay above the ever rising water. The wall trembled a little more with every slam, but it wasn't giving. They were getting desperate.

And then the water was going up over Arra's nose and she was struggling to keep her head above the water. Larten began to panic, then got a great idea in the same instant. If he could push himself off of one wall and get to flitting speed in a split second, he could flit straight into the blockage and surely it wouldn't be able to hold up. Since the water was already to his nose, he had no problem dunking the rest of his head under. He pushed Arra to one side, who was now holding her breath, and took somewhat of a stance a swimmer did before starting a race.

 _Alright, I can do this,_ he thought, _I haven't flitted before, but how hard could it possibly be?_


	3. Chapter 3

Arra had about three minutes worth of breath, she predicted. If she were a full vampire, she'd have a few more minutes, but she was still frustratingly only half. Her fingers and legs had gone numb because of the cold. She might have been crying, but she couldn't tell underwater.

Larten was preparing to go through with his plan. Three, two, one, push off! Nope, not fast enough. Go up for breath, one more time, one two three, push off. Nope. One two three, push off, and this time he can feel that he's fast enough and flits. The wall crumbles. The water rushes out, taking both of them with it. For a second, they just lay there were they had washed up, right outside the tunnel the river entered. Then Arra sat up, and Larten said, "I flitted!"

They were getting to their feet, when footsteps were heard heading down the tunnel towards them. Mika rounded the corner. "What did you do to my assistant?!" he roared after a second of awkward silence.

"W-what do you mean?" they both asked.

"Why are you both soaking wet, shivering, and why is she crying?"

Arra reached up and wiped some of the tears away. So you could cry underwater. Well, you learn something new every day. "Must be the shock," she reasoned.

"Shock of what? What the hell did he do to you?"

"Nothing, it was my stupid idea to show him the stupid tunnel, and the stupid landslide happened, and I couldn't swim because I'm stupid, and he's the reason we aren't corpses."

Mika took a second to put the pieces together. Meanwhile, Arra had turned to Larten.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry."

"No, I do. I wasn't any help."

"It's not your fault you can't swim."

"It's my fault I panicked."

"It isn't. I nearly did, and I could swim."

"Well, I'm sorry anyways." Then she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stood straight as a board, a deep blush creeping across his face. Then she pulled away. He cleared his throat awkwardly as Mika shot him a glare.


	4. Chapter 4

_The water was rising, rising, and this time it was pitch black and there was no escape. It got into her lungs, she couldn't breath, was drowning, drowning, drowning…_

Arra woke up with a strangled scream to the same nightmare that had been plaguing her for the past five, six days. Mika sat up, groaning. "What is it?"

"None of your business." She laid back down, thinking how great it would be when she was a full vampire and she had her own quarters. Having Mika right on the other side of the room had it's definite downsides.

After a few minutes of not being able to sleep, Arra crept out the door and out into the halls. She had something to do. She made her way to the Games Hall, then through a few more. Finally, she found who she was looking for. Larten was having breakfast over on the other side of the hall. He didn't see her yet. Arra took a deep breath and blew it out.

Arra slid into the seat next to Larten. "Hey," he said, smiling.

"Hi," she said, fiddling with a strand of her hair, a habit he did not usually associate her with. She was acting strange, not fully meeting his gaze like she usually did.

"Are you okay?" he asked, moving a little closer to her, a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, I just, had something to ask you."

"What is it?"

"I was just wondering, if…" Arra swallowed her pride and asked it, "you could maybe teach me… how to swim. I…" she trailed off, deciding not to tell him about the nightmares.

"Of course."

"Really?"

"Yeah. you want to start today?"

"Sure, I mean, if you want to."

"Hey guys!" Gavner sat down in between them, putting an arm around each of their shoulders. "Whatcha talking about?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"It looks deep."

"You can stay in the shallow parts at first if you want to."

Arra, with a tank top and shorts on, was reluctant to even touch the water. Gavner on the other hand had already thrown his shirt on the ground and jumped in.

Larten reached out and took her hand. Then he pulled her forward until she was in the water up to her knees. She looked terrified. He pulled her forward a little more, and a little more. Then Gavner splashed them both. "Cut it out!" she yelled at him, "You'll make it angry!"

"Make what angry?"

Arra turned red. "I dunno, the river?"

Larten couldn't help it. He laughed.

"Don't you laugh at me! It was that way in the ni-" she cut herself off, but not fast enough.

"Nightmare? You've been having nightmares?"

Arra hung her head in shame, but admitted, "The water is pitch black and I'm drowning. I can't breath, and nobody's there."

"Why didn't you say before?"

"I- I have to go. Thanks." Arra backed out of the water and walked quickly down the tunnel.


	6. Chapter 6

"I can't do that again. I'm not going anywhere near water. No."

"That's fine with me," Larten shrugged. "I heard you've been training for your Trials." he changed the subject abruptly.

"Yeah," Arra responded, a bit confused.

"Wonder which ones you'll get. I mean, there's the Blooded Boar, the Trial of Fire, the one where you have to fish the stone from the bottom of the deep, deep water-"

"You have to _what_?!"

"Go down, oh, about a hundred meters, and just get the stone. Easy! Except for the swimming back up part…"

"You're trying to scare me, aren't you." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Listen, I want to help you. Swimming is a useful skill to have, you never know when you'll need it. You needed it then, you'll need it sometime in the future. I guarantee it."

"I want to overcome that fear, but I can't. You don't understand."

"That's not the Arra Sails I know. The one I know isn't afraid of anything."

"You don't know me very well, then."

"Alright. That's totally fine. I just really hope you don't draw that trial, because nobody can learn how to swim in one-"

"Fine! Fine, teach me. But if I drown on your watch Mika will kill you faster than I'll be able to come back from the dead and do it."

"I promise I won't let you drown."

"We'll see about that," Arra grumbled, but followed him back to the river. She bit her lip as he led her into the water again. She grabbed his arms and hung on tightly as her feet left the solid ground. He supported her, his hands gripping her elbows and keeping her shoulders above the water.

"You're fine. I've got you. Just kinda paddle with your feet."

A small wave splashed up against the back of Arra's neck and she pulled closer to Larten. Then she blushed, embarrassed. As she looked up to meet his eyes, the atmosphere seemed to change. All the sudden, she couldn't look away. The water didn't matter anymore, none of her fears did. He drew her closer, slowly, so her chest was pressed against his. She moved her arms up around his neck. Their lips were just inches away. Her eyes were sliding shut. He could feel the electricity in the air…

"Master Crepsley!" someone barked, and Arra jerked backwards, making the mistake of letting go of him. Larten caught her before she disappeared under the water, but they didn't resume their previous position. "After you two are finished in here," Seba said, "I would like your help organizing a storage closet."

"Y- yes Seba, I shall do that." Larten stammered.

Seba smiled at his ex-assistant, "Lean in quick, before you are on land and she can break a bone or two."

"Seba!" Larten hissed, turning red. Arra stifled a smile. Seba laughed and began to walk back down the hall he'd come through. "I- I am sorry, about that. I don't mean- he didn't-"

Arra laughed softly, then leaned in and gently kissed him. He shut up quickly and returned the sentiment, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back close to him. Her arms slid around his neck again. When she finally pulled away, he felt a little light headed and intoxicated.

"Was… was that bad?" Arra asked, concerned. In response, Larten dipped his head back down and caught her lips again in another kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

"Do you remember that?" Larten asked. Arra tried to keep the smile off her face. She was supposed to be mad at him for leaving. He couldn't win her back just by telling her stories. "Then a few days later, Mika saw us horseplaying and thought for a second I was trying to drown you."

This time Arra snorted, remembering her mentor's scowl. She allowed herself one smirk. "You would shuffle your feet like some awkward teenager whenever he was around," she reminded him.

"Those were good times," he said, reaching out to wrap an arm around her waist.

"Well, they're gone now. You left." She pushed him away. For a moment there was no noise but the rushing of the river.

"I'm sorry."

"You can't just come back and say that and expect everything to be okay. It's not."

"I'm still sorry. I want to make it up to you."

She turned around so her back was to him, ignoring him. He smiled devilishly and pushed her. She landed in the water and came up shouting and sputtering. He laughed. Then she grabbed his ankle and pulled him in after her. When he surfaced, she punched his arm, hard. "That's for pushing me in." She punched him again, harder this time. "That's for leaving." Then she leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. "And that's for coming back."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and this time she didn't pull away. He kissed her quickly on the lips. "What was that for?" she asked.

"For forgiving me."

"I never said I forgave you. I'm just not going to kill you for it."

"You're probably going to sucker me into doing a lot of favors for you in the future. 'To make up for leaving,' you'll say."

"Maybe," she laughed. Then after a few seconds, she said, "You know, to make up for leaving, you could kiss me again."

"Gladly," he murmured, leaning back in.

 **And that's the end. Thank you, SweetLittleOldLady, for the reveiw on this story and the reveiws on the others. I hope you liked it, and anyone else reading.**


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